“Life after Jesse [James] was really tough,” a source reported, referring to Sandra‘s ex-husband. “She was embarrassed by what he did and in ways blamed herself at the time (she knows now it wasn’t her at all). She did consider Jesse a father to [her seven-year-old son] Louis, so that was one of the hardest parts of breaking up. Jesse was there for her through the whole adoption process. She now knows she is much better off and everything happens for a reason.”

“She is an independent mom and also found a great man that loves her and her kids unconditionally,” the insider went on. “Her children are her life and always have been her top priority. She lived just for her child Louis for a while and stayed away from dating to focus on herself and Louis. It took Sandy some time to actually open up to a man, trust and love again.”

The couple broke up in early 2010 after five years of marriage when it was revealed that Jesse had been having an affair.

“The relationship part I was able to put [aside],” Jesse said in an interview for In Depth with Graham Bensinger. “I had to stand up in front of the media and take full account for what I did. And I took it all. I took 100 percent of it right on the chin. Nobody does that. Everybody denies it… I’m the guy that ruined my marriage because I banged some stripper. There’s got to be some flaw in my personality that made me think that was okay.”

“The painful part was about Louis, who we adopted,” he added about the son that they adopted in January 2010. “As bad as stuff was between us, we adopted a kid and things got kind of good for a little while and we had that kid to focus on, and, boom, it was over in 24 hours – gone, done.”

“I got divorced and lost a kid I adopted because of it,” Jesse continued while discussing Louis. “Whether that’s fair, whether I should have lost a kid due to infidelity, which I don’t think anybody ever does. But I think with ‘Hollywood Law’ that’s totally fair.”

Jesse James Photo Gallery

Sandra Bullock carries her son Louis while heading to a Thanksgiving party with her father John on Wednesday (November 21) in Beverly Hills, Calif.

The 48-year-old actress’ ex-husband Jesse James is reportedly engaged to be married for the fourth time to drag racer and Paul Mitchell heiress Alexis DeJoria. The pair have only been dating for a few months, according to the Huffington Post.

“Sometimes you are only given one chance in life,” Jesse, 42, told People. “It was up to me to open my eyes and see it. That girl is my chance. I will never stop fighting and striving to hold on to her. Showing her how special she is, and how much I love her.”

The on-again couple, who initially split in late July, also each posted pics of them together on their Twitter accounts.

Jessewrote “para siempre” – Spanish for “forever” – with a photo of him kissing Kat, 29.

The engagement news comes on the same day that TLC announced it was endingKat‘s show LA Ink.

Kat responded, telling People, “In an effort to capitalize on my recent breakup, the network has decided to focus their energy on re-editing events that didn’t happen while filming. I have no regrets and am very proud of the original footage. In my opinion, any attempt to compromise the honesty of that would be an insult to my fans and viewers.”